Our Trip~Part 2(Including the snake bite!)

The second half of our trip was a little calmer, until the scrapped knee and snake bite! We always go to the head of the Metolious there wasn't the usual chipmunk stampede or the popping beetles very sad!

My very law abiding sister and Mother!

Mt. Jefferson(at least according to my Dad!)

The head of the Metolious river, exciting isn't it?=)

Then we go to the fish hatchery, it's pretty neat to feed the fish and watch them pile up out of the water and grab at the food. We were down at the holding pond and Jacob fell and scraped his knee. Then wait for it, wait for it, wait for it.................................................... Megan found a snake picked it up and after they had carried it around for awhile it bit her. She shook it off put it back in the bushes and my Mom hustled all off to the car to leave because she had had enough fun for one day!

Hello fishy!

The water under the bridge(hehe) it's very neat how it changes color.

At the End of Road 1234

My family went on our annual trip to the fish hatchery last Friday and we also went to check to see if the huckleberries had come back after the B&B fire. The first time we went to pick the huckleberries the guy taking us chanted road-1230-road-1230-road-1230-road-1230 the whole hour it took to drive there! So needless to say we all remembered that when we got off the paved road, road 1230 was the one we wanted to take! But did we manage to take road 1230? Nope we ended up on road 1234!=)

My Mom hates driving on narrow mountain roads and being in the 15 passenger van doesn't exactly make the road feel any wider! The whole time we were driving up the road(going really slow) she was hyperventilating and saying that we were going to die. Not a fun 30 minutes! I didn't think that we were on the right road because the drop off was to our left instead of our right, but when I mentioned that I about ended up walking the rest of the way!

We got to the end of road 1234, which ends at a parking lot with a couple of trail heads going off of it. And much to every ones surprise a lake! Okay, how clueless are we? I knew we were at the wrong place, but no I was told this is the same place! We had all just managed to miss the lake the 5 times we had gone to pick berries. It a beautiful little lake and the shore was covered in orange-black and these tiny blue butterflies. It was like a picture in a book or something. I walked through them(after taking pictures!) and they all flew up and it was AMAZING!!

The lake was really shallow we all went wading and the dog was in 7th heaven playing fetch out into the water. The scenery was just beautiful, the burned out trees, the fresh green of the new ones, the cloudless blue sky, the warm clear lake all made for a wonderful experience! We are supposedly going back to do one of the hikes and to come more prepared to play in the water, but we'll see if my mom can psyche herself out to go on that road again!

These blue butterflies posed better for pictures!

A burned out log and my little bro! Aren't they pretty?=)

A cool reflection under the water, I about fell of the log I was standing on to get this picture!

A view of the lake

The butterflies (so very cool, one of the best memories I have!)

This definitely deserves another trip! We'll just have to wait and see if I go with my family. Hmm, or I maybe I could manage to drag somebody else up there!=)

Learning to be Thankful

For a few days I'm helping house sit for the people my older sister nanny's for. It's much cleaner then normal, much, much cleaner. But still, not quite what I'm used to. I was taught (kicking and screaming the whole way) to clean the whole house twice a week. The towels get washed twice a week and the sheets get washed once. I didn't see the need for this when I was younger. But after wiping the dead bugs off of the bathroom counter at this one house, I was once again reminded to be thankful for the hard work my Mom had gone through to teach me how to clean!

We never like learning our lessons when we're in the middle of them, but after it's over we look back and have untold appreciation for the people who dragged us down that road. Parents, teachers and friends have all played huge rolls in my life. The one who has taught me the most, never gets enough credit and still gets loads of flack unfortunately is God!

I know that God will bring me through this hard time, but I still get mad at Him for making me go through this. I don't care that He is making me a stronger person and forming my character. I want it my way right now! Why do I have such a hard time with this? Why can't I be content knowing that at the end of this season in my life I will be a better person for it?

I really need to learn to thank God for these lessons while they are happening and after. Because most of the time, even after the good times have come back. I'm still a little annoyed and wondering why me?! I swear, sometimes I wonder about Gods sanity putting up with the likes of stubborn ol' me! =)

Summer Time Blues

What is it about summer? You spend all year dreaming about the warm sunny peaceful days, lazily catchin' some R&R sitting outside in the shade with a cool breeze and a glass of your favorite beverage beside you so cold that little beads of water are gathering on the outside of your glass. Then BOOM it gets here and your so busy you barely have time to sit down to pee! Let alone read or do anything else restful!

Summer days fill up so fast, it's hard to appreciate them sometimes. Some days I just can't wait for the evening so the doors and windows can open up and the fresh air can come in and the AC gets turned off(It smells funny don't you think, the AC air? I much prefer fresh air. Don't get me wrong the man who invented the AC should at least get to the 7th layer of heaven, but sometimes it gets so stuffy!) Then when school starts up again in the fall it's like whoa, what happened to my summer?

I'm somewhat of an over anticipater(I guess that's not really a word, hmmmmm), I plan everything out and when it doesn't go how I planned I get annoyed. Then I factor that into the planning and I get annoyed even before the event starts because I know that it will not go according to plan and know that I'm not going to be able to do anything about it! The restful times happen, just not when or as much as I've planned. But then again isn't life like that? It never goes how you plan and there's really nothing you can do about it.

Even when my plans get royally messed up, I still have fun or at least a great story to tell later(sometimes much later! Some things that happen just need time before they're funny!) Looking back at my life, it's a beautiful picture of Gods grace and His path is much more beautiful then the one I had planned. After all aren't the hard to find, hard to get to places the most beautiful? Or maybe we just appreciate them more because of the struggle to get there.=)

There are some b-e-a-utiful moments though, I slept out side with the little siblings a couple of nights ago and I just lay on my back and looked up at the stars forever! You feel so small, and yet such a part of something bigger then yourself to know that the very same God who can name every single one of those stars knows my name and died for me, just so I(little old good for nothing me!) could be with Him forever. It just blows my mind!

Playing in the water, camping, hiking, watching the kids play outside, the sun on my face, the way that cool breeze brushes the back of my neck under my hair just when I think I'm going to melt! Watermelon, s'mores, not having to wear shoes, there are just so many great things about summer that just aren't the same any other time of year! Reach out and embrace the crazy wonderful summer days, let that hot sun and those cool breezes play across your face and smile. Summer's here baby!=)

Books!=)

2 CD's: $2.00

4 Records: $2.00

2 Big soft cover books: $2.00

1 Small soft cover book: $0.50

10 Hard cover books: $10.00

1 Library book sale: Priceless!

(Convincing my older sister to change her wedding date to the next day because it's the same day as the next book sale? $More money then I will ever have!)

Window Shopping

Last night at bible study the issue of contentment was one of the topics of discussion. I've always liked hearing how other people find contentment because it's such a funny and difficult concept for me to grasp sometimes. How can I be content with my situation, yet want something more? Or better?

1 Corinthians 7:17-24
17 But as God has distributed to each one, as the Lord has called each one, so let him walk. And so I ordain in all the churches. 18 Was anyone called while circumcised? Let him not become uncircumcised. Was anyone called while uncircumcised? Let him not be circumcised. 19 Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters. 20 Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called. 21 Were you called while a slave? Do not be concerned about it; but if you can be made free, rather use it. 22 For he who is called in the Lord while a slave is the Lord’s freedman. Likewise he who is called while free is Christ’s slave. 23 You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. 24 Brethren, let each one remain with God in that state in which he was called.

These are some of the verses that we were looking at last night and it makes sense to me that God called you to be where you are and if He wants your situation to change He will bring about the circumstances to change it. But, what if I miss the signs? What if that one decision is going to change the rest of my life and I make the wrong choice! Does God believe in second chances?

As my brain spins out of control, my thoughts running wild something in the back of my mind says, oh yeah! Wait a second! Then I remember that God does believe in second chances. He gave us a chance in the garden of Eden and we screwed up, Noah was another chance to start clean, the Israelites were all ways messing things up big time and Jesus was the ultimate second chance! A second chance at life with Him beside us here on earth and life with Him forever in heaven.

I need to learn to be content with my situation and be praying and paying attention to what God is doing in my life. One wrong choice will not be my ride to hell in a hand basket! God has the grace(thank goodness!) to realize that us humans can be thick sometimes. Now, I can't sit on my butt and expect God to drop that husband, job, car etc. in my lap, but one step in the wrong direction won't mean I'll never get where He wants me!

And now to explain the tittle of this post, as contentment discussions always turn to in groups of singles, the issue of contentment while waiting for your spouse was brought up. Ah, my favorite subject!(hehe) Someone, I'm not sure who said it but somebody called dating window shopping! I love that! You can look, touch, feel, even try on and walk around a little, but with out actually having to commit to purchase! What a perfect picture of what the normal dating scene looks like.

It was also interesting to see what the guys in the group had to say(I've had my fill of what girls think on the subject!) they just aren't as concerned and obsessed with the idea. I'm usually pretty okay where this subject is concerned, not being wild to get married the point of settling. Though I've never had the opportunity to even catch a glimpse of what I'm missing, so maybe that's why...............

To be honest It has been on my mind more lately because my older sister is getting married. That little voice in the back of my head is saying,"She always gets the good things first! She's had her chance and she spoiled it twice! Be jealous, be upset, it's your turn now! The only person who will ever be interested in you is an old, one toothed widower with 12 kids!" I am desperately trying not to let that voice be an influence on my thoughts and actions, besides when was the last time you saw an old, one toothed widower with 12 children? =)